Bitcoin targets $90K as spot demand challenges shorts

Bitcoin has broken above $85,000 as renewed U.S. buying and forced short covering have put Nansen’s next targets at $87,000 and $90,000, even as large crypto traders remain net short.

Nansen Senior Research Analyst Nicolai Sondergaard told crypto.news that Bitcoin’s price has turned bullish faster than positioning among crypto-native traders, creating room for underexposed market participants to chase the rally.

The move above $84,000 appears to have drawn support from renewed exchange-traded fund demand and a large short squeeze, according to Sondergaard. However, Hyperliquid’s largest Bitcoin traders were still net short, suggesting that some major market participants had not fully accepted the recovery.

Onchain exchange flows offered another sign of caution. Nansen recorded more Bitcoin moving onto exchanges than leaving them over the past two days, a pattern that can raise the amount of $BTC available for sale.

“Bitcoin’s move above $84,000 looks less like a clean macro-driven accumulation event and more like a combination of renewed ETF demand and a large short squeeze,” Sondergaard said. “The important distinction is that price has turned bullish faster than positioning has.”

Under-positioned traders may have to buy Bitcoin if the advance continues, adding fuel to the rally. Sondergaard warned, however, that the move would remain exposed to a reversal if ETF inflows weaken or U.S. Treasury yields climb again.